Posts tagged religion

There are a few universal truths in the world of Pokemon: Water-type beats Fire-type, gods can be tamed by 10-year olds, and battles between citizens can be sparked by something as small as walking into one another's line of sight. Actually, that last point is particularly poignant given the n...

Maybe it's just me, but it seems like your character's choice of religion (or not) was far more of a feature of pen-and-paper RPGs than in most CRPGs and MMOs. I can't think of many MMOs where you're ever asked to assign a fictional religion or deity to your character, save perhaps for Neverwinter'...

How much of what we do in World of Warcraft matters, and how much does it matter? Can one be said to be engaging in a spiritual or religious experience when we play the game? Robert Geraci would seem to think we can at least start talking about that. Dr. Geraci is a professor of religious studies a...

What sort of grumpy academic would pick a fight with Santa Claus? Well, actually, not Richard Dawkins. The prominent zoologist, atheist and skeptic is no stranger to controversy, but his recent, widely quoted comments at a UK science festival run much deeper than just hating on one specific fairy-...

With the hustle and bustle of everyday life it's easy for even the most devout of religious people to forget to find time to feed their spiritual side. Thankfully the shiny phone in your pocket or tablet resting in your bag can provide a wealth of options for religious exploration regardless of ...

Apple has confirmed to CNBC that is has asked Arizona Governor Jan Brewer (R) to veto the so called religious freedom bill SB 1062, which was passed along party lines in the Republican-controlled Arizona House and Senate. The bill would allow any person or company in Arizona to refuse service to a...

Ryan Hornbeck is a cognitive anthropologist who has recently completed an enormous dissertation on the subject of moral cognition and spiritual experiences in World of Warcraft in China. And according to Hornbeck, World of Warcraft's popularity combined with its communal structure and the way it cr...

Twenty years after it earned notoriety as the sole unlicensed game on the Super Nintendo (not to mention a Christian-themed, first-person shooter), Super Noah's Ark 3D has returned to the console.
For those unaware, Super Noah's Ark 3D isn't a very good game, but it is rare and collectors view i...

The Binding of Isaac has turned 2 years old, but it's gamers that get the birthday presents. For one day, The Binding of Isaac is $1 on Steam, an 80 percent cut from its usual $5 price tag. In addition, the creators of Indie Game: The Movie have released on YouTube a 30-minute excerpt from their do...

In the US, we have a joke about how you never discuss politics or religion with friends if you want to keep those friends, which is a shame since those are usually the most interesting subjects, especially when it's three in the morning and you're out of jello shots. Today's topic might seem as if ...

Cryptic is well-known for giving players powerful tools to create from the get-go when a new character is rolled in one of its titles, so it stands to reason that Neverwinter would fall in line with this philosophy. Because of this, I wanted to mine some of the details of Neverwinter's character ...

Though Irrational Games co-founder Ken Levine says he isn't a religious person, he takes religion's place in Bioshock Infinite seriously. During development, his conversations with religious employees at Irrational created a major shift for one of Infinite's characters. "One of the characters in th...

I had no intention of broaching philosophy with Siri, as earlier today I was trying to get it to recognize "Hail State!", which BulldogsRadio tweeted would connect to University of Georgia Radio.
That didn't sound right to me, but I thought a built-in easter egg might lead to sports rankings. I...

Upcoming MOBA SMITE met some opposition from The Universal Society of Hinduism this week as the game lets players control the Hindu gods Kali, Vamana, and Agni. Developers also released Guan Yu this week, a new character based on an ancient Chinese general. Lord of the Rings-based MOBA Guardians ...

Maybe papercuts aren't a part of the creator's master plan, after all -- not at the Hotel Indigo's Newcastle location, at least, which is ditching the standard hardcover bible in favor of a Kindle edition. The hotel's GM says the move, which brings Amazon's e-reader to its 148 rooms, is keeping wi...

In Hi-Rez Studios' upcoming action-oriented MOBA, SMITE, players are able to play as a variety of gods, goddesses, and miscellaneous deities from multiple world mythologies and religions. If you recall my impressions of the title from PAX East earlier this year, you'll remember that I got to pl...

Being a game developer means more than just stretching your talent to its full capacity in the name of progressive gaming. These days, game developers are in the public eye much more than ever before as a result of social networking and blogs.
Sometimes we may find ourselves following certain ...

The iPad and iPhone are wildly popular among consumers and influencing both the business and education markets. This is just the tip of the iceberg for the pair of iOS devices -- their popularity will inevitably extend the iPad's reach beyond these core markets and into smaller ones like rel...

Later today, BBC 3 will be airing Secrets of the Superbrands, a documentary about the relationship between consumers and the brands that shape our behavior, our desires and our lives. Series creator Alex Riley let slip an interesting tidbit in a preview post about the series:
"The Bishop of Buck...